The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

The next morning, Liszt took Juan Fu’s bird’s nest and hung it on the windowsill of the castle. On one hand, he wanted to let it bask in the sun, and on the other, he had had enough of the bird’s squawking.

Something odd happened last night, as the bird unexpectedly started calling in the middle of the night.

At this moment, Juan Fu, having just consumed some small fish and shrimp, was full of energy, crawling around in the nest and continuously emitting “gah gee” sounds.

Outside the castle, in the doghouse, Douson poked his head out, drooling as he stared at Juan Fu on the windowsill.

“Woof woof!” Seeing Liszt come out, it immediately started wagging its tail happily, pulling on its chain collar with a clanging sound—Liszt was truly raising a dog, having always used a dog chain from its puppyhood.

He unfastened the chain and held it in his hand.

Douson instantly spread his legs and ran wildly, with the time Liszt took him for a walk every day being perhaps the happiest moment of his day.

Leading Douson to the horse field, Liszt began training.

When Douson was smaller, he generally trained once a day, now the frequency had been reduced to once every three days. He had successfully taught Douson not to harm people or cast magic without a command, as well as not to eat things at random and not to chase the horses in the field.

Of course, except for the Li Dragon horses, the other horses would avoid Douson.

“Sit down, Douson!”

The previously lively Douson immediately squatted down, tongue out, looking at Liszt, barely distinguishable from a regular mutt.

Liszt threw a small ball made of leather: “Fetch it, Douson.”

Douson instantly dashed out like an arrow, then jumped and twisted 180 degrees in midair, successfully catching the leather ball and dashing back to place it in Liszt’s hand.

“Very good.” He rewarded Douson with a small piece of dried meat.

Next, they repeated several training exercises, including casting the magic Rock Spike, until Douson was so tired he was panting. Then, Liszt reattached the chain and handed it to Thomas, “Take him back.”

“Yes, m’lord.”

Considering the sun’s position, Liszt thought that the lumberjack team should be arriving soon. However, it wasn’t the lumberjack team that arrived, but a patrol member.

“Lord Landlord, urgent report!”

“Speak.”

“An askew sailboat has drifted to the East Coast, with people onboard waving flags. Sir Goltai believes it to be a distressed ship. He is organizing a rescue party and asked me to report to you immediately.”

Upon hearing the news.

Liszt’s spirit was lifted. He immediately said to the patrol member, “I’ll head over now. Tell Goltai to make sure to rescue the ship, especially the people on board.”

By the time Liszt, dressed in his Flack·Abbieye and accompanied by four Retainer Knights and Earth Knight Marcus, arrived at the East Coast, he saw a group of people on the beach pulling on ropes, dragging a sailboat, not too big yet not too small, towards the shore.

Among those pulling the ropes, there were also several unfamiliar faces.

“Lord Landlord.” Isaiah, who was in charge of orchestrating the boat-dragging work, bowed in respect.

Goltai also rushed over from the seaside, “Liszt, these are refugees from Little Papa Island. They fled by boat from Little Papa Island, intending to seek asylum on Da Pa Pa Island, but encountered a storm that damaged the ship, forcing them to drift along the sea breeze to Coral Island and run aground on the East Coast.”

Liszt nodded. He had heard of Little Papa Island and Da Pa Pa Island.

At that moment, an elderly man with a somewhat hunched back approached him and, while still at a distance, initiated a prostrate salute, “Respected Baron of Fresh Flower Town, a person in distress, Bunier Zhen Dan, presents his sincere greetings and expresses his deepest apologies for disturbing your nobility.”

“Zhen Dan?” Liszt had heard many unusual surnames, but still found the name Zhen Dan to be peculiar.

“My Lord, my family has been collecting sea swallow eggs for the Lord of Little Papa for generations.”

The assurance of agricultural yields was difficult, and in many places, food was scarce. Fear and ignorance of the ocean meant that the fishing industry was almost undeveloped. Meanwhile, serfs, driven by the need to survive, had to find ways to provide food to ensure the luxuries of the nobility in the castle.

Among these, sea swallow eggs became one source of food.

The sea swallow is a type of sea bird related to gulls, and it usually builds its nest on seaside cliffs. Collecting sea swallow eggs is a life-threatening task that requires climbing cliffs hundreds of meters high and fighting against the protective sea swallows safeguarding their eggs. It is indeed no small feat for these serfs to have survived and left descendants.

“Understood,” Liszt extended his hand, signaling Bunier to get up, “Why did you flee from Little Papa Island?”

“Little Papa Island was attacked by a group of pirates; the castle fell, and the fate of the Lord of Little Papa is unknown. We had no choice but to seize the pirates’ ship to escape from Little Papa Island. We originally planned to take refuge on Da Pa Pa Island but encountered a severe storm. The ship nearly capsized, and we finally ended up on your Lordship’s territory.”

Liszt frowned involuntarily, “Little Papa Island was attacked by pirates?”

Little Papa Island is the family territory of the Little Papa Viscount. If he remembered correctly, the current lord was named Vincent Xiao Pa Pa. That family, along with the Viscount Gena Da Pa Pa from Da Pa Pa Island, were part of the same family a hundred years ago—the Pa Pa Family—known for their finely sewn handkerchiefs.

Later, one branch inherited the family title, and the other gained recognition on the battlefield—both becoming viscounts—so one changed its surname to Da Pa Pa, and the other to Xiao Pa Pa.

“The pirates looted the castle and committed slaughter on the island. We had to flee.”

“What have you decided to do now?” Liszt looked toward the damaged sailing ship, its sails torn, the ship’s body battered with several holes. The ship had already been pulled to the shore, and a group of bent figures were helping each other disembark, “Will you continue to seek refuge on Da Pa Pa Island or stay in Fresh Flower Town?”

In Bunier’s cloudy eyes, a glint of hope suddenly flickered: “My Lord, might we… may we reside in Fresh Flower Town?”

This was a population reward for a task, and of course, Liszt wouldn’t miss the opportunity: “Stay, and I can grant you the status of serfs. In Fresh Flower Town, there’s a lot of uncultivated land I can assign for you to farm. A serf skilled in a craft can be highly valued. Whether you stay or go, report to Sir Goltai.”

The ship was damaged and stranded; they had no way to leave. Besides, what difference does it make between going to Da Pa Pa Island and staying in Fresh Flower Town?

Therefore, after a brief discussion with the other refugees, Bunier reported to Goltai, and they all decided to stay, becoming true serfs of Fresh Flower Town and pledging loyalty to Liszt.

Since they had become serfs, it meant that these people, including the broken ship, were Liszt’s assets.

“Teacher Goltai, take a census of the newly joined serfs’ identities, then allocate them to various settlements. Also, clean the sailboat thoroughly; I want to know what’s in it. A ship seized from pirates is bound to have some weapons on it, right?”

Goltai was eager, “Rest assured, Liszt, not even a loaf of bread can be hidden by these serfs, and I’ll present before you a clear account of everything they’ve brought along with every detail about them… all in half a day’s time.”

“Don’t forget about this ship. If it can be repaired, fix it.”

“Of course.”